Office...II

Bringing back the Chief to issues that matter isn't easy. He loves going off-tangent and veer towards the exotic - sailing championships, Dantak golf tournament or even Archery!

“Sir, do you mind if I go beyond these contracts for a minute?”
“Go ahead Sudhir”.
“This might sound like a critique of your style of functioning. However I’m not trying to criticise you Sir. Just trying to put things across as I see them”.
“Sure. I’m listening Sudhir”
“Sir, I think you’re soft when it comes to handling your staff officers. There are times when you need to wield the stick. Take my own office for example. I’m not your subordinate. However I provide important services. In case my services aren’t timely or inadequate, you as the boss of the project should tick me off. But that doesn’t seem to be happening”.
“Why do you think so?” I could see the Chief getting agitated ever-so-slightly. I went on to elaborate on the simmering discontent, the ego hassles, the one-upmanship between the GREF and the Army Officers, between the Engineers and the non-engineers, the importance of golf over work and the inconvenience caused to the personnel.
“If the officers were listening to you, do you think you had to bring down the targets for the year thus?” I was sure my concluding question would make the Chief ponder for hours after I’d left the meeting. But there were more bitter pills that I was about to deliver. I was working my mind to find the sugar coatings. There was the issue of air-lift charges – Chief’s penchant for using the chopper too often. If I didn’t handle this carefully I knew I’d bring about a whole load of embarrassment to him (and risk ‘cold vibes’ at work). I tread the slippery ground carefully. He’s beaming at the end of it all. Now, it’s time for him to seek my ‘invaluable’ advice. He wants my counsel on the changes he wants to bring about in the allocation of responsibilities among various officers. “Please do this carefully Sir as the court orders are out regarding the parity of various ranks between GREF and the Army” I advise him carefully. “Do you have any measures for the welfare of the personnel Sudhir?”
I grabbed the chance with all my limbs. I had enough to suggest on this matter. “First Sir, consider revising the office timings. Because of the strange timings most of the personnel get hardly any free time”. The office hours are between 7:30 in the morning and 2:10 in the afternoon. However, because of golf many officers do leave the office early. And, then the Chief himself finds it hard to sit at home in the evenings. So, he (and most officers) is back at workplace during the evenings. So, the clerks, the pioneers and the CPLs work until almost 9 in the night. Mindless this is. “I had never thought of it from this angle Sudhir. I’ll surely think about it and make changes if I think it’s feasible”. First victory. There are more to win.
“Sir you must consider providing for more bathroom facilities for the NCOs. I know they have adequate facilities as per scale. But we live in extremely cold conditions. And, if our office starts at 7:30, what they have at present wouldn’t be enough.”
“I’ll tell Aniruddh to bring up a proposal for getting this done before the Raising Day Sudhir. This is a good point”.
“The sentries are asked to do the rounds until after midnight. However there are no facilities for them to sit anywhere except near the Officers’ Mess. One guard-station must be constructed near Officers’ accommodation or the gym”.
“Okay! Will be done”

“Sir, you spoke about sending an officer to Switzerland to do a short course on their methods of construction. I have an officer in mind for it. Do you mind if I suggest?”
“Sudhir, who are you thinking of?”
“I thought Mr. AG would be most appropriate?”
“Hmm... why do you think he’s the most suited?” More elaborations follow. Chief agrees with my recommendation. “I had the same person in my mind”. (A few days later, Chief during tea with all officers remarks, “The DGBR isn’t willing to consider the name that I have proposed. I’ve told them, if they don’t, then I won’t make the proposal for training at all”).

The pioneer brings in tea. Silence falls as we sip tea. The meeting too almost comes to an end. Chief – out of courtesy – asks, “Are there any issues with the officers’ accommodations? Can we do something to make them better?”
“At present the accommodations are large enough Sir though I wouldn’t call them comfortable. However there are issues with regard to their maintenance. None seems to care.” I go on to describe the problems in my own quarter and conclude with, “Such problems might be existing in almost all quarter but for a few”.
“I’m so glad Sudhir you brought out so many issues to my knowledge. I’ll try and address them all in as short a time as possible. Meanwhile, would you please clear the cases of conference room requirements?”
“Sir those cases haven’t come to me. I’ll clear them on priority” I pause “Provided they’re processed correctly”
Chief smiles and says, “You won’t give up, do you?
“Thank you Sir. Good day!” I take leave.

Post-Script
In the next two days, all grievances that I had had about my accommodation are resolved. Construction for the guard room begins too. I also get a phone call from the Director (works). “Sudhir, would you please come to my office? I have a few issues to discuss”. When I reach the office I find AM too there. Both the men look grim, glum and sombre. After the strained pleasantries, D asks, “You could at least have come to me with your quarter problems instead of telling them to the Chief”. “I didn’t tell them. He asked me”.

“Sudhir, you could’ve discussed these issues of contracts with me before going to the Chief?” “No Sir, I won’t discuss with you. You’re not in my chain of command at all”. He gives out a mirthless laugh and asks “Do you suspect my integrity?” “That’s none of my business Sir”. “Then?” “When I am asked for advice, I expect it to be followed unless you put down your differences on paper. However with regard to those contracts, you didn’t follow my advice.” “But Sudhir, I had a word with the MES people after your advice and followed what they said”. “So far as you are concerned I’m the Government and the final authority on advice”. Both the officers continue to remain speechless as I walk out of the office.

Office Office...

My cellphone rang during our flash session – a rare thing in the afternoon (the call, not flash). It was the PS to the Chief Engineer. “Sir I’ve been trying to reach you for over 2 hours”. “What’s the matter Mr. Kutty?” “Chief wants to meet you sir tomorrow. He’ll be coming to the office at 10 in the morning”. “But tomorrow’s a holiday; it’s His Majesty’s birthday”. “He’s requested that you meet him at 10:15 Sir”. Others were curious. “Why does chief want to meet you?” “Oh! There are some issues” I said vaguely (and tried to sound as important as possible).

Chief and I share a love-hate relationship. His belief and confidence in me and my words is tidal. It sees a regular ebb and high – ebbs are longer though. I wondered what it would be this time.

A little background on the Chief
The Chief Engineer is the head of the Project (Dantak, the road-building project). Though I head an independent office here as the finance and audit guy, I still am responsible for the services provided by my office to the executive. Of course the Chief is senior and hence I could call him the Boss.

As a person Brig MSP is affable. He’s almost self-effacing, mild-mannered, well-dressed and courteous. He’s nice to a fault with his men. I can’t vouch for his language or conversational skills (I rate him 3 on a scale of 1 to 10 most times on these two attributes; he LOVES to talk). But as the head of the project he’s a disaster. He is not corrupt but not incorruptible. He wields little control over most of his subordinate officers. He has grand ambitions, dreams and visions but lacks in both planning and implementation. He prefers conferences and presentations to on-site inspections and ground-level interactions. Though he is responsible for roads his travel’s mostly by the chopper. By concentrating on new and exotic (read whimsical and unrealistic) ideas that he gets from the books he reads he misses out on the whole picture. Achievements of the project are woefully short of the lofty targets he’s set himself. He means well but does little. So, the targets get revised downwards at least twice before the year-end. He also gets easily upset with me quoting logic (since I don’t know rules) whilst arguing why he can’t do things he proposes to! He also gets easily influenced by his people (and hence his opinion on me keeps fluttering like the flag in the wind). In short he thinks I’m a prick most times and an evil that can’t be wished away at others.

A little background on why Chief wanted to meet
A few days ago, just before Chief left for Delhi for (yet another) conference he’d asked me to see him (and give my 2-cents on his presentation). After the tête-à-tête was over, just as I was leaving I mentioned to the irregularities I’d noticed in the contracts that were concluded. “Sudhir, were they because of lack of knowledge?” “No Sir, I think they were deliberate. But I’d rather discuss the issue once you’re back from Delhi”.

He’d remembered this conversation (which again is a rare thing) and wanted to talk more about it.

The Meeting
10:15 was too early for a meeting on a holiday. I had no time to bathe. I barely managed to shave. I didn’t even change into a fresh set of clothes. Breakfast too was eaten hurriedly. When I entered Chief’s office, his PS too was present. Soon he was asked to leave and immediately Chief said, “Yes Sudhir, you were telling me about the contracts before I left for Delhi”.

“Sir, in the last one month I have returned at least 6 contracts without vetting them on grounds of irregularities in their conclusion”. I elaborated on this and pointed out the irregularities I had observed. Cases of awarding contracts to non-lowest bidders resulting in loss to the State, cases where the bids were overwritten to make a particular contractor the lowest bidder, cases where revised offers were received by the Office even before these offers were written!

“Are you sure that these lapses are deliberate? Could they not possibly be due to lack of knowledge?” the Chief asked after listening to my marathon drone.
“It’d have been possible in one case or even two but not in all cases”.
“Who do you think is responsible?”
“Anyone dealing with the Works”
“Do you have any doubts about any particular officer?”
“No. I don’t play the ‘finger-pointing’ game. I have brought the matters to you. It’s for you to find out who might be involved”.
“What about the present Director (wks)? Do you think he’s involved too?”
“I don’t know Sir”.
“Do you have any doubts about AM?” AM is a Lt Col serving as the Senior Staff Officer – Works. He’s the one who does most of the scrutiny after the bids are received.
“No Sir. If there’s one officer whose integrity I’d vouch for, it’s him. Of course we have our differences over enough things but that apart, I believe he’s clean”. I remember many instances of our ego clashes. Because AM ‘thinks’ he is senior to me (by age and years of service) he has tried to call me in singular terms. Since I don’t consider him senior by rank I have addressed him the same way, with a little bit of arrogance and disdain thrown in for good measure (and in front of all men). He has been careful ever since.
“Really Sudhir?” and the talk drifted to how the previous Director (wks) – how corrupt he was! - didn’t want AM as his deputy, how the present Director (wks) was impressive with his work and his knowledge of rules. Soon I grew tired and brought back the discussion to the topic concerned.

(To be continued...)